But no surprise.

Mrs. P. and I have this conversation a lot. How loud do we scream and how much do we put ourselves at risk? How do we talk to friends and family, often not as informed as we are, and risk losing those relationships?

Back in 45's reign, I tried to convince a sibling that their support for Mr. T was the same as being a "Good German." They did not like that. At all. But it didn't take.

Logic doesn't work. I attempted to work on emotions, but that is hard. As the article expresses, you can't get big jumps. It takes steps. It needs a dopamine reward.

Very much like the conspiracy mindset. It starts small. Start watching a show about ancient aliens building the pyramids and the crack opens. Next thing you know, it is chem trails and a hundred other silly ideas. Find a community online that agrees with you. That re-enforces it. Now you have a tribe that provides a further dopamine rush. Then it becomes addiction of cognitive bias. Everything is evidence supporting their view, a piece of red string connecting cut out newspaper clippings on a bulletin board in their mind.

Nearly impossible to turn that ship around at that point.

It is a cult, in other words. That's how it works. L. Ron Hubbard understood that. So did Jim Jones. David Koresh. Every pastor or priest or shaman or spiritualist or drug dealer ever.

And "our" president.